The Bulls remained resolute as the NBA trading deadline passed 2 p.m. Thursday. And with good reason. The Bulls don’t really have any major holes to fill and have not even effectively used all the players they could, like Tony Snell and Doug McDermott. So there wasn’t much need for change.

The new Jimmy Butler was introduced Thursday to start against the Lakers.

You know, All-Star Jimmy Butler.

“It’s an honor,” Butler told reporters before the game in his first comments about being named a first time All-Star. “I think everybody would love to make the All-Star team in their career. I feel like I’ve come a long way since I …

It appears to be an intriguing strategy the Bulls have embraced, and once again on display Sunday in a 96-84 loss to the Miami Heat in which someone named Hassan Whiteside had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks in just under 25 minutes off the bench.

That’s now Bulls losses to four teams recently who either will miss the …

Pau Gasol seems almost certain to earn his first All-Star game start, according to the latest fan voting returns released Thursday.

Gasol remains second among Eastern Conference front court players behind only votes leader LeBron James. Carmelo Anthony is third followed by Chris Bosh and Kevin Love. The top three players will be starters. Gasol has almost a 200,000-vote margin …

The first half Sunday in Miami, a 39-32 Bulls lead on the way to a 93-75 Bulls victory, was painful for so many. Little babies cried, women fainted, men lost their hair. Thibs paced, but Mike Dunleavy, scoreless at the break, relaxed.

“We came out and were going to kind of slow roll them in the first half,” Dunleavy offered …